Margaritas & Mole! 

For many of us, when we hear the words “mole,” we shy away from attempting to make the complicated dish with its many ingredients and endless steps.  This simple sweet & savory chicken mole enchilada recipe has all the complex flavors and spices of a rich mole sauce using only a few common pantry items and without all of the work!  Served with fresh margaritas and a simple rice dish, it’s the perfect quick and easy meal. 

Jeff’s Fresh Lime & Orange Margaritas

This recipe takes some extra work but you may never want to use a pre-made mix again. The zest of the limes and orange adds incredible depth to the margarita. The tequila should be the star and any good quality tequila will work – a Blanco creates a light and brisk drink while a Reposado or an Anejo give the cocktail a distinctly different flavor.

Juice Mix

Makes enough for 8 drinks

Into a plastic container with a lid place:

Juice from 8 limes

Juice from 1 fresh orange

Use a zester to zest the orange and the limes into the juice.

Let steep overnight in the fridge.

Prior to making drinks, strain the juice to remove the zest.

Into a Shaker

Makes 1 drink

Ice

2 oz. Tequila

1 oz. Juice mix

1 oz. Cointreau

1 teaspoon simple syrup

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier 

Shake and serve over ice in salt rimmed glasses.

Chocolate Mole Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 6 – 8 

Making a mole dish can be daunting, but this easy version uses grocery store shortcuts that make getting dinner on the table hassle-free. Note that frying the tortillas is not necessary either – this is as easy as it gets! These rich, dark chicken enchiladas are sweet, savory, simple to make and delicious! 

Ingredients: 

4 (9.5 ounces) boxes ready-to-cook mole sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 whole cooked chicken, shredded

1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

½ cup chicken broth
½ of a medium red onion, diced
1 – 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (adjust amount to desired spiciness)
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Garlic salt
12 – 14 corn tortillas
4 cups Mexican blend cheese, divided (reserve 2 cups to sprinkle over the top)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour ready-to-serve mole sauce into a sauce pan and simmer on low. Add brown sugar and chocolate chips for extra sweetness, if desired. Stir sauce every few minutes. 

In a separate pot, simmer the cream of mushroom soup over medium-low heat. Add the chicken broth and continue to simmer over low heat.
Once the cream of mushroom soup and broth mixture is at a simmer, add the shredded chicken, diced onions, jalapeños and cilantro. Mix well. Add garlic salt to taste.
Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until soft enough to roll – about six tortillas at a time.

Lay each warm tortilla flat and top with a generous tablespoon of mole sauce, spread sauce on tortilla. Top tortilla with sauce with a generous tablespoon of chicken. Top the chicken with some cheese.  

Coat the bottom of a 9×13 pan or glass dish with about 1 cup of the mole sauce. Roll the chicken up in the tortilla and put in the 9×13 baking dish. Repeat until all of the chicken and tortillas have been rolled. 

Ladle remaining mole sauce over the rolled enchiladas (you can reserve some of the sauce to pour over the top of the enchiladas after they have been baked). Top enchiladas with remaining cheese. 

Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. 

Spanish Rice
Serves 4 – 6

This easy recipe uses ingredients that are already in your pantry. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ medium onion, finely diced

1-1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-1/2 cups chicken broth (homemade, canned, or made from bouillon cubes)

1 cup tomato sauce

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes until translucent. Add the dry rice and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until rice becomes a golden brown color. Add the garlic to the rice and sauté for one more minute.

Add tomato sauce and stir.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cover.

Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes. Before serving, fluff rice with a fork and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.